By Hira Nafees Shah
(From Left to Right) Yasir Nazar Momin co-chair Education Committee, Ahmad Ullah Qazi, SUSI Alumnus and President Model Provincial Assembly and Sajid Khan Salaar, Marketing Head, preside over Day 3 of the Model Provincial Assembly conference on Sunday, December 22, 2013.
Aqeel Ahmed, a Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) law student, travelled from Lahore all the way to Peshawar on a cold December afternoon. His goal: to find a solution to the problems besetting his home province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as a delegate to the region’s first-ever Model Provincial Assembly (MPA).
“We have tried the elders and seen them coming and going but nothing has happened,” he said. “Now it is time for the youth to take control.”
The Model Provincial Assembly, organized by Study of the US Institute for Scholars (SUSI) alumnus Ahmadullah Qazi, brought 80 students from several universities across the province to one platform to encourage dialogue and teach them how the democratic system works.
Despite active youth participation in the 2013 general elections, they remained divided across political party lines, Qazi says. He organized the MPA to encourage them to think about how they can work together to resolve problems facing their province.
“I‘m a part of the Model United Nations but thought: why are we talking about international issues?” Qazi said. “I thought; let’s have the Model Provincial Assembly in KP because Peshawar has always been relegated to the side because of security concerns and other issues.”
Ahmad Ullah Qazi, SUSI alumnus observes the proceedings of the Interior Affairs Committee of the Model Provincial Assembly.
The Pakistan U.S. Alumni Network funded the project through an Alumni Small Grant. All alumni of U.S. sponsored exchange programs in Pakistan are eligible to apply for grants to enable them to give back to their communities.
In a classroom inside the Institute of Management Sciences, the atmosphere was one of tense concentration, as the delegates debated about the chosen topic: should peace talks be held with militants in Pakistan?
“Talks should be held for establishing permanent peace. The militants are from amongst us,” said one participant.
“Those people who killed 60 thousand innocent Pakistanis, they are not one of us,” argued the opposing candidate.
The chair recognized the point of view of both parties, as the debate heated up and Qazi observed from the sidelines.
The debate was part of the agenda of the Interior Affairs committee—one of five such ministries formed at the Model Provincial Assembly. The other committees included Health, Education, Economics, Finance, and Media and Information Technology where relevant topics were discussed, in order to find common ground.
Abdul Rehman and Shadman Sikander, chair and co-chair of the Economics and Finance Committee, address the delegates while they debate about the Privatization of Public Sector Enterprises on Saturday, December 21, 2013.
Delegates had the opportunity to take on leadership roles as a ministry chair or co-chair, in order to learn how provincial assemblies work and how to draft resolution papers.
For one delegate Raisa Zaman, who co-chaired the Media and Information Technology ministry, the conference was an indisputable success.
“This is the first time that such an event is taking place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so it is an honor for me to attend it,” she said. “The Model Provincial Assembly will help to bridge gaps as it encourages open sharing of ideas by reaching out to diverse sets of people.”
Yasir Nazar Momin, co-chair of the education ministry echoed Zaman’s sentiments. He said the conference’s success was due to the diversity of the participants, including a significant number who came from the tribal areas. His committee pondered how to align different educational systems in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa consisting of madrassas, public and private schools.
Performers lead a chitrali dance on the first day of the Model Provincial Assembly, Friday, December 20, 2013.
For Qazi and his supporters, their efforts truly bore fruit, when six resolutions were passed by the delegates, showing the level of political knowledge they had gained by taking part in the conference.
“I am very happy because the Model Provincial Assembly exceeded my expectations,” Qazi said. “It was just the first experience for the delegates but still they had strong debates and resolutions were passed unanimously.”
For more details on Ahmad Ullah Qazi’s ASG Project visit:
